Bus falls into Kerala river

Kottayam, March 23 : A private bus carrying over 40 people, including many students, fell into the Meenachil river near this Kerala city Tuesday afternoon, eyewitnesses said. Some passengers swam to safety while some were rescued by locals.

 

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The bus was going from Shertalai to Kottayam. The accident occurred three kilometres before Kottayam when, according to a survivor, the bus hit a pole and plunged in.

Eyewitnesses say the bus was crowded with more than 40 passengers and most of them were students who had boarded it from the tourist destination of Kumarakom. Police and fire personnel have reached the accident spot but the bus was fully submerged even half an hour after the incident.

Around seven people have been rescued so far.

Jyothilekshmi, a college student who was saved, said all the passengers were sitting at the time of the incident.

“The bus suddenly hit a post and fell into the river. As soon as the bus fell into the water, it sank and some of us somehow came to the top of the bus and swam. Then we were picked up by locals,” said Jyothilekshmi.

Local people, in large numbers, jumped into the river to save the passengers.

A.R. Rahman, SRK adjudged Global Icons of the Year

Double Oscar winning musician A.R. Rahman and the Baadshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan were adjudged the Global Icons of the Year at the ongoing FICCI Excellence Awards 2010. Rahman, whose appearance at the event was a closely guarded secret till the last day, said in his acceptance speech, “I am glad I made it. It’s a new experience.”

The three day Global Conference on the Business of Entertainment discussed various issues such as piracy and the state of script writers in India. The event commenced with a dazzling closing ceremony comprised of fireworks, performances and awards show.

Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan accepted their Best Actor awards for Paa; Ranbir Kapoor won the Entertainer of the year award. 3 Idiots won the best film and Best Director Award. Pritam Chakraborty was presented the best music director award for Imtiyaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal.

Chaverpada

`Chaverpada’ is getting ready with the subject that a gang of students strike against bureaucracy and bribery which gripped the society. Shoot is progressing at Kothamagalam. The story tells about four software engineering students Ameer, Abhimanyu, Vivek and Tony. Ameer loves Gopika, a student of the same college. These brilliant students of St. Aloysius’ college had developed a software. During the experiment of the programme, the traffic signals as well as the wireless system of the city got jammed. Police found out that the incident occurred as a result of testing of a new computer programme. Police moved to the college to arrest them. But finding a new programme which could interrupt the wireless system enthused the terrorists and they kidnapped the four. Under the NSG Commando wing, Visal Sabhapathi was engaged to investigate the case. Bala play the role of Visal Sabhapathi. Arun, Manikuttan, Siraj Ali and Ajith Somanath appear as students. Muktha play the role of Gopika. Debutant Jis pal is directing the film. Under the banner of Souparnika visual media, Paulose K. Paul, Eldho Thomas, Sajan Jacob and K.N. Sivan Kutttan are the producers. Bharani K. Dharan is handling the camera. G.S. Anil has penned the screen play. Alex Paul has tuned the music and lyrics penned by Vayalar Sarat Chandra Varma and Santhosh Varma. Other cast includes Kochupreman, Krishnaprasad, Ansil, Vijay, Ajay Nataraj, Sari Ratheesh, Avanthika Nair, Kalpana, Santha Kumari and others.

`Bobbanum Molyum’ again gets a movie version

The beloved, mischievous and witty cartoon characters of Malayali, `Bobbanum Molyum’, created by Toms, again getting a movie version. The film tells about the developments in a village where the characters reached. They engage with the events and their interactions create interesting situations. The film will be produced under the banner of Kalamandir Arts and Sree Vallabha Creations by Kiran Varma and Shaija Vijay. Director is Vijayakumar Thiruvalla. The shoot of the film would start within a month. Nambiathiri will crank the camera.